Christmas Market Hyde Park

On Monday we went up to London and finished off our Christmas shopping in Oxford Street and Regents Street. Pretty and unusual lights in the shape of umbrellas on Oxford Street this year.

After the shops as the sun went down we walked to Hyde Park to see the German Christmas market that's there throughout December. It's cheesy, twinkley, christmas carolly and oh so much fun! Not a huge amount in the way of stalls selling wares but lots and lots of places selling lovely German sausage, mulled wine, hot chocolate, beer, pretzels and donuts mmmmm! as well as lots of christmas themed fairground rides (if you're so inclined!) and an ice skating rink. It was a very enjoyable, if exhausting day and well worth a visit!

Not Long Now....

Not long now to Christmas! Lots of lovely handmade gifts on our website

http://www.pussywillowscountrycrafts.co.uk

Your Cat Magazine

Hello Everyone,

Pussy Willow's Country Crafts has been featured in the October issue of Your Cat magazine! Those cat lovers among you should get to your newsagent and pick up a copy of the October issue (available from 15th September), it's a lovely informative magazine and we feature on page 10!

The magazine features our Pussy Willow Cat Rustic Hangie and our Wooden Country Cat Sign Hangers. The Wooden Country Cat Signs are available in our full range of colours and with your own choice of words/personalisation, please email us for more details and your requirements to info@pussywillowscountrycrafts.co.uk

Please click here to see our range of cat related items: http://www.pussywillowscountrycrafts.co.uk/index.php?cPath=34&osCsid=tldkalpj04ppj776h7hu8g6jb4

Please click here to subscribe to Your Cat magazine: http://www.yourcat.co.uk/Subscribe-to-Your-Cat.html

Click here to see October's issue http://www.yourcat.co.uk/Latest-issue/

As always please visit our website for lots of lovely cute and country items to decorate your home http://www.pussywillowscountrycrafts.co.uk/

Just Rambling

Hello Everyone,

Gosh I've haven't posted here for simply ages, doesn't time fly?! We have had some lovely weather recently here in Kent.

I have just been planting a couple of new plants in my garden, a large mauve busy lizzie, foxglove, purple sage and yummy lemon thyme. The busy lizzie and the thyme I've planted in two lovely new pots and they look lovely. The thyme tastes yummy too, I made lemon thyme chicken and it was scrumptious!

I have also been working on lots of new designs, some of which are now listed on the website, please take a look..............

www.pussywillowscountrycrafts.co.uk

Happy Easter!

Duck Egg Heart Wreath, one of a selction available from our website http://www.pussywillowscountrycrafts.co.uk/

A quick post to wish you all a very happy Easter / Spring Break! Today I will take a break from sewing and painting and enjoy a relaxing day, a roast lamb dinner and chocolate - yum! If the weather brightens up (it's a bit gloomy here at the moment) we'll probably go for a nice walk in the countryside here to work off all those extra calories.

Enjoy your weekend :)

Tamsin x

Ideal Home Show

Yesterday we visited the Ideal Home Show at Earls Court in London. We had a lovely day walking around the various stands, sampling some of the things on offer, checking out the latest style trends and eating delicious fudge! There were two whole houses designed in two different styles which we enjoyed looking around and casting our critical eyes over with lots of "no, I don't like that" and "oooh that's lovely!" It was a very enjoyable day out and I can thoroughly recommend it!

I Love Primitives!

Hello everyone :)

This morning my post is about American style primitives. I love the prim look, all hearts, stars and homespun. It's a lovely warm, cosy look that never seems to go out of fashion. Homespun fabrics are a favourite of mine, both to work with and the soft homey look they give to a room.

You can go all out and decorate with prim items and have a real Americana theme to a room or simply add one or two choice pieces to give a modern decor a cosy feel.

I'm very eclectic in my personal taste and love everything from the elegant french shabby chic look to English country cottage to grungy American primitives as well as some modern furniture, I feel a mix of new and old gives a lived in, welcoming feel to a home so my own home is a cosy jumble of styles that work well together.

Primitives are cosy pieces that somehow get better with age, a bit of dust here and there never did anyone any harm! Some of my prims are scented and others are not (the descriptions will tell you) The unscented ones can be scented yourself if you wish, by adding a drop or two of essential oil to the back of a heart hanger, I sell a range of scented oils for this purpose under the "Cinnamon Spice and All Things Nice" category of the website.

Please take a look at the Primitives section of our website and please feel free to ask if you can't find what you are looking for :) http://www.pussywillowscountrycrafts.co.uk/index.php?cPath=77

Prim Blessings,

Tamsin xx

Spring, improvements and your help please :)

Hasn't the weather been lovely the last few days? Spring is finally in the air, hooray!

My garden is starting to burst into life and I cut the grass for the first time the other day, mmmm fresh mown grass scents entering the house through the open windows :)

Our website has had a bit of a tweak here and there too, I'm hoping it's now a little clearer to our customers how much P&P they will be paying on their order with the new box on the right-hand side, there have been a few more improvements too and a fantastic one for me is an automatic upload to Google which means a lot less work for me = lots more time to spend sewing and painting, yippie! My thanks to Richard our web designer x

And while I'm talking about the website I'd like to ask for your help, yes you, all you lovely readers of my blog, please let me know if there are any improvements you'd like me to make to the website to make your shopping experience easier and if you have any requests for particular fabrics, colours, designs etc and in return I will email you with a discount code that you can use for your next order with us :)

Happy Spring and Happy Shopping! xx

Website: http://www.pussywillowscountrycrafts.co.uk
Email: info@pussywillowscountrycrafts.co.uk

Handmade Cards

Hello All,

I have been an avid card maker for many years and love making cards when I can fit it in around my other crafting, working, housework etc, etc.

I am really pleased with the two cards I've made for my Mum. The 21st March is Mum's birthday and the 22nd is of course Mother's Day so I thought you might like to take a peak at them (just hope Mum doesn't look at my blog before the weekend!)





I also have some cards for sale on eBay at the moment (please click the links):

Easter Cards: http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ssPageName=STRK:MESELX:IT&item=380111237650#ebayphotohosting



Art Deco Lady Cards: http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ssPageName=STRK:MESELX:IT&item=380111239198#ebayphotohosting



Wedding/Anniversay Cards: http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ssPageName=STRK:MESELX:IT&item=380111283583



Please feel free to email me if you'd like to buy a card or two, I am also happy to take commissions :)

Bye for now,

Tamsin x

Hooray for Mums!

Don't forget Mother's Day is Sunday 22nd March!

Hello, Today's post is all about Mums everywhere, they do a fantastic job don't they? This Mothering Sunday show your Mum how much she means to you and treat her to a pretty handmade item from Pussy Willow's Country Crafts.

We have lots and lots of ideas for you, handmade hearts full of fragrant lavender, pretty signs, wreaths and angels and lots more to decorate her bedroom or kitchen or even to hang from her office wall.

Please click here for Mother's Day gift ideas.

Or here for the home page.

See you soon x

"There must be an Angel...."

Hello,

Today I thought I'd concentrate on Angels! Angels, hearts and of course cats are three of my favourite things. I have been making my wooden angels for sometime now and they have proven to be popular with my customers as well as friends and family.

My angels can be made in a wide range of colours, with dark brown or blonde hair and almost any wording that you could think of! I've had customers who have bought an angel for themselves as well as gifts for people of all ages for all sorts of occasions or just to say "I'm thinking of you" or "Thank you". Available as "stock" designs or bespoke.

Thay make ideal presents for Mother's Day, Easter, Weddings, Bride and Bridesmaid gifts, to welcome a new baby or to bless a new home, I'm sure you could think up many more ideas too!

Here is my own "Kitchen Angel" hanging from my kitchen wall with my large Joy Primitive Heart Hanger.

Click here to see Angels currently for sale http://www.pussywillowscountrycrafts.co.uk/index.php?cPath=21

Please feel free to email me for further details - info@pussywillowscountrycrafts.co.uk

Ebay

Well I'm both a little sad and rather happy too! A bit of a contradiction you may think, well I'll explain....


I'm afraid the time had come to close my Ebay shop. Ebay was how I got started in business and over time the Ebay shop had grown and I'd gained some loyal customers, many of whom now buy directly from the website http://www.pussywillowscountrycrafts.co.uk/

Ebay have unfortunately made so many changes over the last few months that it has become increasingly difficult and expensive to sell there, especially owning an Ebay shop. So it makes sense now to close the ebay shop (hooray no more long-winded hours spent listing on ebay!) and concentrate on the website.

My website has grown from strength to strength and sales have outstripped the ebay ones which is fantastic so I feel the Ebay shop is now no longer needed. I will however, continue to sell some items under my ebay user name willowscountrycrafts so for those of you who enjoy the ebay experience you can still buy my items on ebay!

Please visit our website for the full range of items at very reasonable prices and you'll be pleased to know that the packing and postage charges have been reduced for smaller orders! New designs are being added all the time now and I have just listed some very pretty heart hangers in fresh spring colours, please take a look
http://www.pussywillowscountrycrafts.co.uk/product_info.php?products_id=189&osCsid=fnf7s1c971ketfplud75vhfu61 and http://www.pussywillowscountrycrafts.co.uk/product_info.php?products_id=188




So there we are, not so much the end but a bright new beginning, or continuing of better things!!
With love,

Tamsin and Pussy Willow xx

http://www.pussywillowscountrycrafts.co.uk/

Hearts and Flowers

Sorry slush alert!.......

Look what I got for Valentine's Day, aren't I lucky! How lovely it is to have a romantic man :)

I also got a pretty card and of course I made him one with hearts and flowers and cute Penny Black mice (the rubber stamp addicts will understand!).

Martin cooked me a lovely meal of homemade seafood lasagne followed by strawberry cheesecake - yummy! (yes he cooks too, told you I was lucky!) We had a lovely romantic weekend and I felt thoroughly spoilt!

I hope you all enjoyed a lovely Valentine's Day too and were equally spoilt by your other halves!

Lots of love and country blessings xx

"Let it snow, let it snow....."

Wow haven't seen snow here like that it years! I believe most of the country has now had at least some snow and west Kent where we are is no exception. Last Sunday the white stuff started falling and Monday morning we woke to a beautiful thick white blanket covering everything, but it didn't stop there it just kept on coming! Then when it stopped snowing the ice hardend on side roads and the pavements, getting anywhere became treacherous!

By Thursday most of the snow had gone here and we had rain but I know in many areas the snow was just beginning. Friday evening and more snow arrived, in the valley were we are we only have a little and it's quite bright and sunny today but in neighbouring towns they have lots more snow so I guess we're lucky here!

Pussy Willow and Sky are enjoying sitting on the windowsills above the warmth of the radiators and looking out at the snowflakes and frosty garden, hmmm I'm sure they are also watching the little birds hop around looking for the nuts and birdseed I've put out too! Oh the hard life of a pampered cat!

Hope you are keeping warm and toasty inside, with warm wishes...

Tamsin xx

Love Hearts!

Here are some of my latest heart signs. Each is made from wood and handpainted. I offer these signs in a selection of colours. The personalised country heart signs and the Just Married hearts are fininshed with a co-ordinating ribbon and the personalised shabby chic style heart sign is finished with a beautiful sparkly acrylic crystal.

The country hearts have handpainted spots and stitches and the shabby chic hearts have flowers.

Please take a look at our website for further details and to view our large range of signs: http://www.pussywillowscountrycrafts.co.uk/


Just Married Heart Sign

Personalised Country Heart Sign

Personalised Shabby Chic Heart Sign

Colour Guide for Heart Signs

Pussy Willow!

A couple of pictures of Pussy Willow for you to look at .................................

CATching up in January!

Hello All!

Wow it's been ages since I last posted on here! I've been so busy with orders and enquires on the website, which is great :-) as well as visiting friends and family.

Hope you all had a fantastic Christmas holiday and New Year. We had a lovely Christmas but New Year I was ill with the dreaded sore throat, cough thingy that's been doing the rounds, I'm all better now though :-)

Pussy Willow and Sky have a fabulous new bed courtesy of my parents, it's very grand and they love it! Two very pampered and contented felines!

I have lots of new designs coming for the Spring/Summer but in the mean time it's nearly Valentine's Day! What better time to treat the one you love to a handmade gift, we have lots of hearts and angels which make perfect love tokens for Valentine gifts.

At this time when many of us are watching the pennies a handmade gift really says you care about the recepient yet costs very little, most of our items are priced under a tenner! So why not treat your loved one or even yourself!

Wishing you love and happiness,

Tamsin and Pussy Willow xx